THE family of the man accused of stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a train has a history of violent crime, court records show.
Decarlos Brown Jr., a convicted felon, is facing charges of first-degree murder over the shocking attack on Zarutska, a 23-year-old who had recently arrived in America after fleeing the war at home.
Decarlos Brown Jr. has been charged by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for Zarutska’s murder[/caption]
The horrific murder was caught on surveillance footage onboard the commuter train[/caption]
Brown is accused of launching the frenzied knife attack that killed the the unsuspecting pizzeria worker on a Charlotte Area Transit System in North Carolina on August 22.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi called him “a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime“.
She added that prosecutors “will seek the maximum penalties for this unforgivable act of violence” and “he will never again see the light of day as a free man.”
Court records show that it is not just Brown who has a lengthy history of crime, with immediate members of his family also carrying lengthy rap sheets that include murder.
Brown’s older half-brother Stacey Dejon Brown, 32, is currently behind bars serving a sentence between 27 and 36 years for the murder of Robery Heym, 65, in 2012.
Stacey pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other related charges including two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, per a press release from North Carolina DA’s Office in 2014.
It stated that in October 2012, Stacey and two accomplices robbed a man in Charlotte during which, he “held the victim at gunpoint with a shotgun”.
“When the victim ran, [Stacey] shot him in the back. The victim suffered serious injuries but survived,” officials said.
The next day Stacey and an accomplice “confronted Mr Heym” while he was walking home from work.
“[Stacey], who was again armed with a shotgun, robbed Mr. Heym of his cellphone. When Mr. Heym resisted, Brown shot him at close
range. Mr. Heym died at the scene,” the release said.
Meanwhile, Tracey Vontrea Brown, Decarlos and Stacey’s sister, also has a lengthy criminal record.
She has been arrested numerous times, most recently in 2024, for crimes including misdemeanor shoplifting, larceny, felony conspiracy, and vehicle theft, according to records seen by Fox News.
The 33-year-old was last arrested on May 15 last year for misdemeanor larceny and felony conspiracy.
And according to The New York Post, their father, Decarlos Brown Sr. has been arrested for allegedly breaking and entering, felony conspiracy, larceny, and possession of a weapon on a university campus.
Brown’s half-brother Jeremiah who shared a father with the stabbing suspect told The Post of the family’s criminal history.
“He was on my father’s side. They have a record of being in jail and stuff,” Jeremiah said.
Meanwhile, Brown himself has been arrested over 14 times for various crimes including felony larceny, armed robbery with a dangerous weapon, and burglary.
He previously served a five-year sentence for felony larceny and armed robbery and shortly after his release assaulted his sister leaving her with minor injuries.
In January this year he was back on police radar when he was arrested for misusing 911, claiming he was being controlled by man-made substances.
This is a claim he has since repeated in disturbed jail ramblings, giving it as a motive for killing Zarutska.
President Trump has already called for Brown to receive the death penalty, while his family beg for leniency, highlighting his mental health struggles, notably his diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.
Trump’s statement on Zarutska’s death
“I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic.
“The perpetrator was a well known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES.
“What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP.
“The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer’s knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including Former Disgraced Governor and “Wannabe Senator” Roy Cooper.
“North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only Republicans will deliver it! Additionally, where is the outrage from the Mainstream Media on this horrible tragedy? VOTE FOR MICHAEL WHATLEY FOR UNITED STATES SENATE, HE WON’T LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN!”
